Taj79

Updated 5/10/2024.

Who the heck is Nick Patton?

@willie: pick away. One game does not a career make and even a blind squirrel ...well, y'know. Maybe bust is too strong a word but does a team trade a first round pick if he's performing? And then the new team goes out and essentially recruit over him by getting Siakam? Maybe Obi is just destined to be a supporting role player. I'll leave it at that and then watch the next great Dayton forward come into NBA play.

@Crewsorlose: I can accept your stance on Holmes. Again, we shall see. The Holmes I watched this year was really no different than last year with the exception of the fact he dribbled more up the court than last (unpressured by any other big man ,.... meh) and he took 83 three pointers well above the 26 total he attempted his first two years. Which equated into only 2.5 threes per fame. In many instances that I saw, one led to the other ....... he'd rebound, dribble the length of the court to the top of the key, and then launch one because the other big didn't bother to cover him. He made like 32 which is about one per game. I think he did both of these (dribble and shoot from distance) to say again to the NBA, 'I can do more.' I'd like to know how many of his makes came from the top of the key because in the games I watched, once off the top of the key, he wasn't that good. To me, his interior game was one of bully ball. He overpowered guys like TJ Hargrove and Tre Williams and Phil Alston when covered by such. Double teams sent at him by Loyola and VCU seemed to stymie him some. And once outside the restricted zone, where he needed a move or two going away from the basket, I didn't see much. But he's great on the lower block spin move and dunk. To me, outside the occasional dunk, Toppin is a first round bust. I also think an All-American should be more than a 10th man on an NBA roster but others have failed to launch as well ..... Adam Morrison, Jimmer Fredette, Greg Oden, Jay Williams, Anthony Bennett and so on. I actually can't wait to see what does become of Holmes going forward.

Maximus Edwards from Geedubya to Duquesne.

@HoosierPal: saw a listing yesterday where Holmes is #53. That's barely drafted given 60 picks. Sorry ..... I'll defer until proven otherwise. For the record, I thought Toppin would be a lot better than he has shown. He is who he is. Even if he comes back to Dayton, he'll be the same player. Likely dominate down low (given the dearth of A10 big men) but likely still struggle outside five feet. Maybe , maybe not. He's a good college player, a dominant force in a league bereft of comparable big men, but nothing dynamic in my book.

I'm going to stand by my Holmes take until the NBA stardom proves otherwise. Current rumors ay SVU have him returning because his draft status isn't 'all that great.' All-American or not.

Toppin is/was the better athlete. Holmes runs like he has a stick up his ass. His percentages down low are the result of no resistance in the A10. When faced with some physicality, he was a lesser player. His three-point shooting was mostly from straight on and only when left completely uncovered and designed to tell the pros 'yeah I got more to my game, I'm draftable, pick me, pick me.' I expect him to get snuffed in the NBA if he even makes it. Time will tell which of us is right.

@slu72: I'll do my best but will refrain from anything until the rosters have been set. Hoosier give a nice composite above and the bottom line will be how quickly a team builds chemistry and how they compete in their OOC schedule. A10 teams have a tendency to play absolutely no one (not their fault) and compile gaudy OOC records. Some teams will now use this time to find the rotation ---- much like Duquesne did last year. It's not the same anymore, just like it was different for Ford dealing with the portal and NIL.

Dayton's lineup right now is Malachi Smith returning from injury, Javon Bennett, Enoch Cheeks, Posh Alexander, Nate Santos, Isaac Jack, and Zed Key. The first four are point guards and only Cheeks goes over six feet. Long way to go in the Gem City. Holmes does nothing for me. He has little game outside five feet so it's always dunks and putbacks. Sure, he took and made more three pointers this year but he had to do that to offer proof to the NBA he had more. He does not. Obi Toppin had a better exterior game and he's been a mediocre first rounder since drafted. DaRon is going to trade the Step van Bussels and Rocus Jocuis' of the A10 for Karl Anthony Townes, the Joker, Rudy Gobert, and Anthony Davis. Sorry --- I don't think so. Holmes has been the best of the A10 for two or three years but that isn't saying much given the dearth of comparable big men in the conference.

Saw Trice had passed in the latest "Universitas." Was a little stunned.

All updated with heights, positions and stats as of 5/04/24.

Max Shulga from VCU to Villanova.

Sounds like a very intelligent kid.

roger

TRANSFER IN (Updated 05/30/2024): Davidson: Joel Hurlburt (Colorado, 6'10"C): 10 gp, 2.4 mpg, 1.1 ppg. 6'10: C Zach Laput (Bentley, 6'4" SG): 30 gp, 37.4 mpg, 20 ppg. Dayton: Zed Key (Ohio State, 6'8" PF): 36 gp, 15.4 mpg, 6.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg. Jacob Conner (Marshall, 6'8" SF): 33 gp, 26.5 mpg, 6.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg. Posh Alexander (Butler, 6'0" PG): 32 gp, 31.9 mpg, 11.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.9 apg, 2.2 spg. Duquesne: Alex Williams (Furman, 6'5" SF): 25 gp, 26.9 mpg, 13.2 ppg, 4.8 ppg. Jahsean Corbett (Chicago State, 6'6'" SG: 32 gp, 35.4 mpg, 15.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg. Cam Crawford (Marshall, 6'5" SG): 24 gp. 17.6 mpg, 8.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg. Trey Dinkins (Cansuis, 6'2" PG): 32 gp, 35.1 mpg, 15.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.4 apg. Brandon Hall, East Tennessee State/Howard College (CC), 6'5" SG): 18 gp, 31.8 mpg, 16.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.5 apg. Maximas Edwards (George Washington, 6'5" DG): 31 gp, 28.0 mpg, 12.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.2 apg. Elijah Wilbon, St. Francis-PA, 6'8" PF): 30 gp, 25.6 mp, 10.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg. Fordham: Matt Zona (Notre Dame, 6'9" PF): 33 gp, 11.3 mpg, 2.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg. Jackie Johnson III (UNLV,) 5'11" PG): 34 gp, 14.6 mpg, 5.4 ppg. George Mason: Brayden O'Connor (UMass - Lowell, 6'4" SG): 32 gp, 35 mpg, 9.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.2 apg. K.D. Johnson (Auburn, 6'0" PG): 35 gp, 17.7 mpg, 7.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.2 apg. Zach Anderson (Florida Gulf Coast, 6'7" PF): 32 gp, 31,8 mpg, 12.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.9 apg. Giovanni Emejuru, Sienna, 6'10 C): 32 gp, 26.8 mpg, 11.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg. George Washington: Sean Hansen (Cornell, 6'9" C): 30 gp, 19.5 mpg, 8.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.0 apg. Rafael Castro (Providence, 6'11" PF): 34 gp, 9.2 mpg, 2.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg. Trey Moss (William & Mary, 6'3" PG): 33 gp, 31.3 mpg, 13.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.2 apg. Gerald Drumgoogle Jr. (Delaware, 6'5" SG): 33 gp, 28.6 mpg, 13.9 ppg, 3,8 rpg, 2.4 apg. La Salle: Eric Acker (LIU, 6'2" PG): 26 gp, 33.4 mpg, 12.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.8 apg.le Corey McKeithan (Rider, 6'0" PG): 32 gp, 33.2 mpg, 8.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.3 apg. Jahlil White (Temple, 6'7" SG): 28 gp, 23.5 mpg, 10.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.5 apg. Mouhamaodou Cisse (Trinity Valley CC, 7'0" C): 33 gp, 5.3 mpg, 5.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.0 bpg. Loyola: Jalen DeLoach (Georgia,6'9" PF): 32 gp, 12.8 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg. Francis Nwaokorie (UC San Diego, 6'7" PF): Did not play. Kymani Houinsou (Washington State, 6'6" SG): 35 gp, 20.1 mpg, 4.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg. Justin Moore (Drexel, 6'3" PG): 31 gp, 28.6 mpg, 12.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.5 apg. Umass: Daniel Rivera, Bryant, 6'7" PF): 33 gp, 31.6 mpg, 13.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.2 bpg. Malek Abdelgowad , Murray State, 6'10" PF): 19 gp, 11.2 mpg, 3.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg. Richmond: Jonathan Beagle (Albany, 6'9" PF):22 gp, 30.7 mpg, 12.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg. Dsuan Neskovic, Dartmouth, 6'7" SF): 23 gp, 26.2 mpg, 16 ppg, 4 rpg. George Wahington III, Michigan, 6'2" PG): 22 gp, 6;6 mpg, 1.2 ppg). B Artis-White, Western Michigan, 5'10" PG): 26 gp, 27.6 mpg, 10.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.2 apg. Apostolos Roumoglou, Uconn, 6'7" SG): 24 gp, 2.1 mpg, 1.0 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 0.2 apg. Rhode Island: Jamarques Lawrence (Nebraska, 6'3" SG): 34 gp, 23.6 mpg, 6.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.5 apg. Drissa Traore (St. Johns, 6'8" SF): 28 gp, 6.4 mpg, 1.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg. Sebastion Thomas (Albany, 6'1" PG): 32 gp, 35.4 mpg, 19.6 ppg, 4,2 rpg, 4.9 apg. Quentoin Diboundje (East Carolina, 6'5" SG): 17 gp, 18.8 mpg, 6.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg. St. Joseph's: Justice Ajogbor (Harvard, 6'10: C): 20 gp, 23.2 mpg, 8.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg. Derek Simpson (Rutgers, 6'3" PG): 32 gp, 26.1 mpg, 8.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.9 apg. St. Bonaventure: Lajae Jones (Barton CC, 6'7" SG): 37 gp, 26.7 mpg, 15.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg. Jonah Hinton (Panola CC, 6'3" SG): 34 gp, 7.1 mpg, 14.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.2 apg. (MPG off here?) Dasonte Bowen (Iowa, 6'3" PG): 25 gp, 13.5 mpg, 4.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 2.0 apg. Chance Moore (Missouri State, 6'6" SG): 31 gp, 26.8 mpg, 10.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg. Jaxon Edwards, Valparaiso, 6'5" SG): 31 gp, 24.7 mpg, 7.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.3 bpg. Melvin Counsil (Wagner, 6'4" SG): 33 gp, 35.8 mpg, 14.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.5 apg. Michle Folarin (Nevada thru Salt Lake CC, 6'11" C): 30 gp, 17.5 mpg, 8.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg. Saint Louis: Kalu Anya (Brown, 6'8" PF): 31 gp, 27.5 mpg, 9.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg. Josiah Dotzler (Creighton. 6'4" PG): 19 gp, 4.1 mpg, 1.3 ppg. AJ Casey (Miami of Florida. 6'8" SF): 24 gp, 9.4 mpg, 1.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg. Isaih Swope (Indiana State, 5'10" PG): 37 gp, 33.5 mpg, 16.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.1 apg. Robbie Avila (Indiana State, 6'1g.0" C): 37 gp, 31.2 mpg, 17.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 4.1 apg. Kobe Johnson, West Virginia, 6'3" PG): 31 gp, 26.4 mpg, 6.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, 0.3 bp Kilian Brockhoff, UC-Santa Barbara, 6'9" PF): 19 gp, 7.7 mpg, 2.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 37.9% #FG%. Virginia Commonwealth: Jack Clark (Clemson, 6'10" PF): 25 gp, 23.5 mpg, 4.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg. Jamarii Thomas (Norfolk State, 6' PG): 33 gp, 31.1 mpg, 16.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.8 apg. Phil Russell, UT-Arlington, 5'11" PG): 22 gp, 29.2 mpg, 14.9 ppg, 4.4 apg.

@brianstl: huh?

Lou Malnati's.

Been away for a week but believe I have updated the original list (new listings in BOLD.

General Motors. General Mills.

Santa Clara.

I hear the opponent will be Santa Clara.

Coleman went 7 and 20 in his lone year at SLU in 1977-78, my junior year. I believe he was hired out of Vashon High School and followed local legend Johnnie Parker, Sr., to SLU. If memory serves, Parker was out of Central High. Parker lasted six games into his sophomore year under Coleman as Coleman went 7 and 20. Others on that team included Milt Wiley, Henry Tiggs, Mike Smith, Craig Shaver, Mark Rhode, Rick Plate, Mike Newbold, Carl Johnson, Howard Jackson, Curtis Hughes, Jimmy Glass, Everne Carr, and Mark Alcorn. They weren't collectively any good and played in the tough Metro Conference. And, of course, Ricky Frazier. Frazier only played in 17 games of those 27. Unfortunatley, this was in the real down period of SLU basketball. Coleman followed Randy Albrecht and was replaced by Ron Ekker. This was about the tiem college basketball was taking off, highlighted by the Bird/Magic final in 1979. Many also forget that Grawer had bookend seasons of 5 and 23 in both his first year and his last. So while college basketball is starting to soar and really take off, SLU was bumbling its way through typical bad seasons. Yes, Grawer had a few, but he could never get over the Xavier hump and make the NCAAs, making the NIT finals in 88-89 and 89-90. Spoon then won with Grawers' core and Romar lived the Miracle in Memphis. The Majerus years then became the highlight of the program. If you start with Albrecht in 1974-75, SLU has seen 8 NCAA appearances and 6 NIT appearances with one CBI runner-up appearance. Those percentages are 16%, 12% and 2%.

I never got that "much" from Tate's in-game coaching skills, if there were any. But with the proliferation of 'suits' on the bench, retaining Tate for continuity and the St. Louis connections seems a good move at this point.

Virginia has become the first state to enact a law that allows the school itself to pay its players: Virginia law allows schools to pay athletes for NIL - ESPN Click on the link and listen to Tim Legler's take on it all. He is saying everything I have said or believed ---- and it starts with calling it pay-for-play. He also talks about how it's likely the ruination OF sport as we knew it and echoes the same thing Nick Saban is saying about the term "student-athlete" being a MYTH. Unlike a statement in the article, I do not believe this gets us closer to a federal or national solution because i believe in what cgeldmacher is saying about pending law suites and continued issues going forward. The UVa AD believes the school has "an obligation to maintain elite athletics program at UVa." This law will force most other states to do the same to "keep up with the Jones." Schools will then have to increase their operating budgets to cover the new cost of NIL line in their bottom lines. It might or migh tnot take the payment plans out of the hands of rabid boosters. Virginia has stepped in where the NCAA continues to fail. But I don't know how the NCAA can succeed when at every turn, they are rebuked by a court case as cgeldemacher states. They continue to call these NIL deals when we all know the reality is simply pay-for-play. I think these scholarship players ought to pay their own way through school now. They seem to have enough money on hand.